The current increase in cases represents real new infections and cannot be attributed to further evidence, Admiral Dr. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary of health for the US Department of Health and Human Services, said Thursday.
“There is no doubt that the more evidence you get, the more you will discover, but we believe this is a real increase in cases,” Giroir told the House Select Committee on Coronavirus.
Giroir said California, Arizona, Texas and Florida accounted for about 50% of new cases and “are very concerning to everyone in public health.”
The weekend of July 4 creates a “perfect storm” for a spike in cases, said Dr. Joshua Barocas, an infectious disease specialist doctor at Boston Medical Center.
“The combination of travel, the combination of reopening, perhaps in some cases, too soon, and the combination of people who do not necessarily follow some of these preventive guidelines,” he said.
DeSantis assured reporters this week that his state can deal with the increase in cases and that shops and restaurants do not need to be closed.
“We are not going back, closing things,” he said. “I mean, people who go to business are not what drives it. I think when you see the younger ones, I think a lot of them are just more social interactions and that’s natural.”
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez said restaurants in the county will close every night at midnight this week. Giménez said that not complying with the order is a second-degree misdemeanor and that violators can be fined and spend up to 180 days in jail.
Additionally, everyone in Miami-Dade must wear a mask or other facial covering when in public.
Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina announced Thursday that police will issue fines for those who do not wear masks in public.
“That means we will close businesses that do not comply with the orders,” Colina told reporters.
Colina said officers will first issue a written warning to people who do not wear masks in public spaces and then issue fines.
The chief said people planning to protest and occupy a public right of way within the city should apply for a permit at the special events office.
Beaches in parts of the state, such as Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, will be closed for the holiday weekend.
But Jacksonville Beach Mayor Charlie Latham said the beaches in his coastal city will remain open.
“I think when we step back and look at the circumstances that created the current peak, it was actually the opening of the bars, not the opening of the beach,” he told CNN on Friday.
“If you show up on the beach, you have children, it is full, there is no place for you to go, I would turn around and go home for a barbecue,” he added.
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